I have a feeling I’m in the minority in finding Stainer’s music rather uninspiring and dated.
I had to look for “All for Jesus” on YouTube, as I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it in real life. It doesn’t seem to have found its way into many American hymnals, and none of my tribe.
The refrain of Wait for the Lord is intended to be sung as an ostinato with the verses sung over it by a cantor or cantors. It doesned a little preparation.
Quite so, which was a commodity What We Did Not Have.
As it was the first Sunday of the month, we had Evensong:
Usual chants to the Mag & Nunc (Robinson & Farrant)
Psalm 18 -chant by John Goss
Hymns: Lord of our life - Cloisters Through all the changing scenes of life - Wiltshire The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended - St Clement
It was rather nice, despite my being asked at the last minute to read the lessons (wouldn't I just get one with some silly OT names in it?).
*Sea Sunday* at Our Place on Sunday, with prayers for the work of the Mission to Seafarers (there are still some commercial wharves in our parish):
When I needed a neighbour (Neighbour) Will your anchor hold (Will your anchor hold) Let us break bread together on our knees (Anon) Eternal Father, strong to save (Melita)
Thankfully, no sign of I the Lord of Sea and Sky !
No, but IIRC we did sing that occasionally at The Tin Tabernacle Of My Youth - we used the blue-covered edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern, and I think it was in that volume.
That was more than 60 years ago, but I guess it gets an outing here and there, and now and then.
This is a seafaring and ship-building area with a flourishing port. Although it is Sea Sunday our Liturgy is set in stone. However we will finish with Eternal Father which I have been asked to play molto con welly. And who am I to refuse?
Well, quite. It's programmed to be Our Place's final hymn, too, and will (I have no doubt) also be sung molto con welly...
Our Town does still see some commercial shipping, though They keep trying to build Exciting, Vibrant, New Communities™ on the docks. We very occasionally see a seafarer in church on Sundays, mainly on occasions when turnround time has been lengthened because of engine trouble, or something. One I remember well was a young man from the Cape Verde Islands, working on the regular timber run from Norway to Our Town - his ship was in Our Harbour for a couple of weeks, whilst parts for the engine were found and delivered...
There is a flourishing RN Sea Cadets group in Our Town, though the main Navy, so to speak, has departed. Father F***wit was Chaplain (he liked dressing up in uniform), but did he ever get the Cadets to church? No - and by his own admission, he never even tried, although Sea Sunday would seem to be an appropriate opportunity. The Scouts/Cubs/Beavers were always invited for Sea Sunday, but, just before Covid, told us in no uncertain terms that it was of no interest or relevance to them.
And we arranged to sing I the Lord of sea and sky especially for them!
I've searched but got no results. Could someone explain this to please?
In UK slang to give something welly means to put 110% of effort into it. So a musical instruction could be (but never is in print) molto con welly, or give it all you've got. It's meant to be humerous. https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa-giv2.html
Choir
Lord God we worship Thee, / Ahasuerus Fritsch, from JS Bach
Made to be one, / Barnard, Ellis
Hymns
The people that in darkness walked, / Crediton
God be in my head, / God be in my head, HW Davies
The love of God is greater far, / The Love of God
Praise to you, O Christ our Savious, / Praise to you, O Christ
All People That On Earth Do Dwell (Old Hundredth)
The Lord's my Shepherd (Townend)
Restore O Lord the Honour of your name (Kendrick)
Come Let Us Sing Of A Wonderful Love (Wonderful Love)
9 o'clock communion:
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven LAUDA ANIMA
The Son of God Proclaim CARLISLE
Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go SONG 34
Sadly, the organist who was on the rota to play died this week. Although elderly, it was still a bit of a shock as he was fit and active, and regularly seen cycling around the town. RIP, and RIG to play & sing heavenly music.
So sorry to hear about your organist, Darda - may he indeed now be accompanying the angels.
I'll add a vote for the Old Hundredth; as most of you know, it was David's favourite hymn.
We had a "could-be-worse" selection this morning:
Glorious things of thee are spoken - Austria Great is the Lord Steve McEwan (who he?) Thy hand, O God, has guided - Thornbury Be still and know that I am God - Be Still and Know* To God be the glory - To God be the Glory - sung fairly molto con welly
* something of a rarity - a chorus that I actually remembered from my misguided youth! It was also vastly improved by the guitarist's wife adding an alto part - we really must get her into the choir ...
Junior Organ Scholar got the introit: Prelude in F major Krebs they get younger every year...
Choir:
Mass Setting: The Salisbury Service, Grayston Ives I love this simple, gentle setting
Anthem: I give to you a new commandment, Nardone very effective, as always
Hymns:
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
Will you come and follow me
When I needed a neighbour
Ye that know the Lord is gracious
Voluntary: Chorale Prelude on Croft's 136th, Parry not the scholar!
'Will you come and follow me' was played and sung in equal quavers, which is heresy sub-optimal, nonetheless it was worshipful.
The Nardone was, for me, the highlight, measured, reflective and at times expansive, good light and shade between the lovely melody and the bass plainsong.
During the sermon, I found myself moved to pray for Palestine. Lord have mercy.
Our Place gave 3 of the 4 hymns (listed above) the appropriate welly, though Let us break bread together on our knees was sung mostly by the organist (who was actually playing the piano for this piece).
Not a bad turn-out by our standards - over 20, which included a few students not Away, or on Courses.
So sorry to hear about your organist, Darda - may he indeed now be accompanying the angels.
I'll add a vote for the Old Hundredth; as most of you know, it was David's favourite hymn.
We had a "could-be-worse" selection this morning:
Glorious things of thee are spoken - Austria Great is the Lord Steve McEwan (who he?) Thy hand, O God, has guided - Thornbury Be still and know that I am God - Be Still and Know* To God be the glory - To God be the Glory - sung fairly molto con welly
* something of a rarity - a chorus that I actually remembered from my misguided youth! It was also vastly improved by the guitarist's wife adding an alto part - we really must get her into the choir ...
If it's the one I'm thinking of "Be still and know" is a chorus/ song which I enjoy singing both because I like the melody and also because I have good memories attached to it!
How Great Thou Art though I like the bit about mountains.
God is Love; His the Care PERSONENT HODIE but annoyingly without the descending bum bum bum bum bum bum bom between verses which is what makes that tune
As the Deer - that perfect illustration of how Christians don't tell lies - they sing them instead.
Be Still for the Presence of the Lord Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!
Joint service at the local music festival:
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
O sing a new song to the Lord (Psalm 98, to BAY OF HARRIS, without accompaniment)
What a gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer (no, me neither, but it went up and down in obvious places so wasn't too much of a challenge)
Ten thousand reasons (didn't know this one either; filed under 'can't see what the fuss is about')
King of kings, majesty (mildly nostalgic for university but one I can take or leave)
“God Welcomes All”/THEMBA AMEN
“How Lovely Lord,” (Ps.84)/MERLE’S TUNE
“There Is a Balm in Gilead”
“All Who Love and Serve Your City”/CHARLESTOWN
“God of Great and God of Small”/GOD OF GREAT AND SMALL
The choir was asked to sing Evensong at a neighbouring church in the parish, a hamlet of about 20 houses. 19 persons present in total. Choir of five ( SSATB) + MD who acted as cantor.
Introit: If ye love me - Tallis
Anthem: Lead me Lord- S S Wesley
Hymns:The Lord will come (St Stephen)
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds ( St Peter)
O Jesus I have promised ( Wolvercote )
The organist scarcely earned his fee as he provided no voluntary at the end. He was fed up with a note that kept sticking. He transposed one hymn to avoid it.
The visiting retired priest seemed to have forgotten that this was BCP Evensong and read his lesson from a modern version, ending with This is the Word of the Lord.
Given the length of time Alternative Services of one sort or another have been around, it's possible (though perhaps unlikely) that even a retired priest might never have had to officiate at a BCP Evensong (or maybe very rarely).
The choir was asked to sing Evensong at a neighbouring church in the parish, a hamlet of about 20 houses. 19 persons present in total. Choir of five ( SSATB) + MD who acted as cantor.
Introit: If ye love me - Tallis
Anthem: Lead me Lord- S S Wesley
Hymns:The Lord will come (St Stephen)
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds ( St Peter)
O Jesus I have promised ( Wolvercote )
The organist scarcely earned his fee as he provided no voluntary at the end. He was fed up with a note that kept sticking. He transposed one hymn to avoid it.
The visiting retired priest seemed to have forgotten that this was BCP Evensong and read his lesson from a modern version, ending with This is the Word of the Lord.
Not sure if this fits in here,but it is something I wished to share.
Bregenz is a town on the Bodensee/Lake Constance which has a summer festival on the Lake. One of the operas featured in this year's selection is 'der Freischuetz' (The sharpshooter) which is or at least was a very popular opera in German speaking lands.
At the opening of the festival there is a special religious service in the parish church of St Gallus in Bregenz. A special chorus and symphony orchestra provided the music of the Mass which was 'die Freischuetz Messe' by Carl Maria von Weber. I had never before heard of this Mass which has its name because it was composed in the same year as 'der Freischuetz' and experts claim to hear some of the music of the opera appearing in the Mass. Weber composed it for the nameday of the King of Saxony and it was probably sung for the first time in the Catholic Court church (katholische Hofkirche) in Dresden under the baton of Weber.
The church of St Gallus was chosen by ORF (Austrian broadcasting) for this week's broadcast Sunday service at on.orf/verpasst 13.07.25 10.00 katholischer Sonntagsgottesdienst
The congregation joined in at the end with 'Nun danket,alle, Gott' (Now than we all our God
@Forthview settings like die Freischuetz Messe are excellent ammo when it comes to those who lament the secular feeling of much modern church music, and I would lob Mozart and Haydn masses in too.
I studied the opera for my degree and didn't think much of it, so I have no inclination to seek out the Mass.
I suppose that an opera like 'der Freischuetz' is more likely to appeal to those who are familiar with the landscape in which it takes place, mountains and rivers, grottoes and caves, huntsmen and fairies, like the landscape in which the many stories of the Brothers Grimm took place. Such a place is the landscape south of Dresden which is known as 'Saxon Switzerland'.
Both the opera and the Mass were composed in 1818 so they are not exactly modern but they would certainly have fitted in well to the musical tastes of the day in Central Europe.
The standard sections of the Ordinary of the Mass are not considered to be particularly operatic though Weber did add an extra Offertorium specifically to honour the King and it has a number of operatic flourishes.
At the name of Jesus (Evelyns or Camberwell) Forth in the peace of Christ we go (Deo Gracias is the set tune, but they may use Duke Street) Gather around, for the table is spread (Scottish melody - Skye Boat Song, I think) Ye watchers and ye holy ones (Lasst Uns Erfreuen)
Admittedly that's linked more to "Forth in the name ... I go".
That's the following hymn in the Orange Book, and Song 34 is indeed the tune set therein. I didn't notice this when looking up the numbers, as it's on the next page...
They may use Song 34, but for some reason Duke Street was the tune which came to my mind - probably because we've used it in the past. I like both tunes...
To me, "Duke Street" goes with "Fight the good fight" although I accept it can be used for other texts (but not, IMO, for "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun" which should be sung to "Truro" or "Rimington". I also like the latter to "Give to our God immortal praise").
I don't know that one, but we like Quires and West Gallery Music!
As a student I used to attend Above Bar Church in Southampton. The Minister enjoyed emphasising that Watts was a Sotonian, and made spurious historical hints of him having attended the church. Watts' "Above Bar Chapel" was actually Independent and, after various rebuilds, WW2 destruction and amalgamations, is today subsumed in the Avenue St Andrew's URC. The present "ABC" was originally the "Church of Christ" and only adopted its present name in 1954.
The last Sunday before the summer break for the musicians (though I will continue to play a couple of trad hymns and the Mass bits that must always be sung and noodle about on the organ at communion time)
I the Lord of sea and sky - Daniel Schutte
Take this moment - Bell
Centre of my life - Paul Inwood
You shall cross the barren desert (Be not afraid) - Robert Dufford SJ.
As above, last Sunday before the musicians go off for the summer break, so everything was turned up to 11.
2 organ scholars are going off to conservatoire / cathedral; choral scholar leaving for exam focus; two new probationer choristers got their surplices.
Music featured reserved and appropriate use of the zimbelstern to create a festal feel.
Organ Introit: Vater unser im Himmelreich (Buxtehude)
Mass setting: Missa Sancti Nicolai - Haydn
Anthem: Be thou my vision - Chilcott
Hymns:
<words by the vicar> Slane
O thou who camest from above (Hereford)
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
Immortal Invisible (St Denio)
Organ voluntary: Ceremonial March Sumsion
Some lovely music here. The Haydn Gloria was super, the Chilcott very moving, the Sumsion voluntary was 'generous with the bigger stops' and made me smile.
Christ whose glory fills the skies (Ratisbon)
usual canticles etc
Pleasant are thy courts above (Maidstone)
The Church of God a kingdom is (University)
Crown him with many crowns (Diademata)
A congregation of 13 which sounded like over 30 given the enthusiastic singing, very good experience. A long time since I was asked to play "Maidstone" which I much enjoyed even if the words are rather drippy in parts of that particular hymn.
Comments
I had to look for “All for Jesus” on YouTube, as I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it in real life. It doesn’t seem to have found its way into many American hymnals, and none of my tribe.
Quite so, which was a commodity What We Did Not Have.
As it was the first Sunday of the month, we had Evensong:
Usual chants to the Mag & Nunc (Robinson & Farrant)
Psalm 18 -chant by John Goss
Hymns:
Lord of our life - Cloisters
Through all the changing scenes of life - Wiltshire
The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended - St Clement
It was rather nice, despite my being asked at the last minute to read the lessons (wouldn't I just get one with some silly OT names in it?).
It's not awful, but it's of a particular era.
They didn't (and the same applied to I the Lord of sea and sky ).
I quite like it ...
Choosing music for Parade Services is a Very Difficult Subject. Trust me - I have nearly 38 years of experience.
I saw the Lord is rather fun, but I could take or leave some of Stainer's stuff.
When I needed a neighbour (Neighbour)
Will your anchor hold (Will your anchor hold)
Let us break bread together on our knees (Anon)
Eternal Father, strong to save (Melita)
Thankfully, no sign of I the Lord of Sea and Sky !
No, but IIRC we did sing that occasionally at The Tin Tabernacle Of My Youth - we used the blue-covered edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern, and I think it was in that volume.
That was more than 60 years ago, but I guess it gets an outing here and there, and now and then.
Our Town does still see some commercial shipping, though They keep trying to build Exciting, Vibrant, New Communities™ on the docks. We very occasionally see a seafarer in church on Sundays, mainly on occasions when turnround time has been lengthened because of engine trouble, or something. One I remember well was a young man from the Cape Verde Islands, working on the regular timber run from Norway to Our Town - his ship was in Our Harbour for a couple of weeks, whilst parts for the engine were found and delivered...
There is a flourishing RN Sea Cadets group in Our Town, though the main Navy, so to speak, has departed. Father F***wit was Chaplain (he liked dressing up in uniform), but did he ever get the Cadets to church? No - and by his own admission, he never even tried, although Sea Sunday would seem to be an appropriate opportunity. The Scouts/Cubs/Beavers were always invited for Sea Sunday, but, just before Covid, told us in no uncertain terms that it was of no interest or relevance to them.
And we arranged to sing I the Lord of sea and sky especially for them!
In UK slang to give something welly means to put 110% of effort into it. So a musical instruction could be (but never is in print) molto con welly, or give it all you've got. It's meant to be humerous.
https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa-giv2.html
Choir
Lord God we worship Thee, / Ahasuerus Fritsch, from JS Bach
Made to be one, / Barnard, Ellis
Hymns
The people that in darkness walked, / Crediton
God be in my head, / God be in my head, HW Davies
The love of God is greater far, / The Love of God
Praise to you, O Christ our Savious, / Praise to you, O Christ
All People That On Earth Do Dwell (Old Hundredth)
The Lord's my Shepherd (Townend)
Restore O Lord the Honour of your name (Kendrick)
Come Let Us Sing Of A Wonderful Love (Wonderful Love)
The only thing to be careful of is taking your cue on tempo from renditions at Westminster Abbey - a smaller setting needs a faster pace.
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven LAUDA ANIMA
The Son of God Proclaim CARLISLE
Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go SONG 34
Sadly, the organist who was on the rota to play died this week. Although elderly, it was still a bit of a shock as he was fit and active, and regularly seen cycling around the town. RIP, and RIG to play & sing heavenly music.
I'll add a vote for the Old Hundredth; as most of you know, it was David's favourite hymn.
We had a "could-be-worse" selection this morning:
Glorious things of thee are spoken - Austria
Great is the Lord Steve McEwan (who he?)
Thy hand, O God, has guided - Thornbury
Be still and know that I am God - Be Still and Know*
To God be the glory - To God be the Glory - sung fairly molto con welly
* something of a rarity - a chorus that I actually remembered from my misguided youth! It was also vastly improved by the guitarist's wife adding an alto part - we really must get her into the choir ...
After this morning's performance I have to agree. It did drag a little, making it hard to sing with a cheerful voice.
Junior Organ Scholar got the introit: Prelude in F major Krebs
they get younger every year...
Choir:
Mass Setting: The Salisbury Service, Grayston Ives
I love this simple, gentle setting
Anthem: I give to you a new commandment, Nardone
very effective, as always
Hymns:
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
Will you come and follow me
When I needed a neighbour
Ye that know the Lord is gracious
Voluntary: Chorale Prelude on Croft's 136th, Parry
not the scholar!
'Will you come and follow me' was played and sung in equal quavers, which is heresy sub-optimal, nonetheless it was worshipful.
The Nardone was, for me, the highlight, measured, reflective and at times expansive, good light and shade between the lovely melody and the bass plainsong.
During the sermon, I found myself moved to pray for Palestine. Lord have mercy.
Heron
Not a bad turn-out by our standards - over 20, which included a few students not Away, or on Courses.
If it's the one I'm thinking of "Be still and know" is a chorus/ song which I enjoy singing both because I like the melody and also because I have good memories attached to it!
How Great Thou Art though I like the bit about mountains.
God is Love; His the Care PERSONENT HODIE but annoyingly without the descending bum bum bum bum bum bum bom between verses which is what makes that tune
As the Deer - that perfect illustration of how Christians don't tell lies - they sing them instead.
Be Still for the Presence of the Lord Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!
I The Lord of Sea and Sky
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
O sing a new song to the Lord (Psalm 98, to BAY OF HARRIS, without accompaniment)
What a gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer (no, me neither, but it went up and down in obvious places so wasn't too much of a challenge)
Ten thousand reasons (didn't know this one either; filed under 'can't see what the fuss is about')
King of kings, majesty (mildly nostalgic for university but one I can take or leave)
Reminds of an organist I knew who wouldn't play the twiddly bit between the verses in CAMBERWELL.
“God Welcomes All”/THEMBA AMEN
“How Lovely Lord,” (Ps.84)/MERLE’S TUNE
“There Is a Balm in Gilead”
“All Who Love and Serve Your City”/CHARLESTOWN
“God of Great and God of Small”/GOD OF GREAT AND SMALL
Introit: If ye love me - Tallis
Anthem: Lead me Lord- S S Wesley
Hymns:The Lord will come (St Stephen)
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds ( St Peter)
O Jesus I have promised ( Wolvercote )
The organist scarcely earned his fee as he provided no voluntary at the end. He was fed up with a note that kept sticking. He transposed one hymn to avoid it.
The visiting retired priest seemed to have forgotten that this was BCP Evensong and read his lesson from a modern version, ending with This is the Word of the Lord.
Didn’t you sing the canticles?
Bregenz is a town on the Bodensee/Lake Constance which has a summer festival on the Lake. One of the operas featured in this year's selection is 'der Freischuetz' (The sharpshooter) which is or at least was a very popular opera in German speaking lands.
At the opening of the festival there is a special religious service in the parish church of St Gallus in Bregenz. A special chorus and symphony orchestra provided the music of the Mass which was 'die Freischuetz Messe' by Carl Maria von Weber. I had never before heard of this Mass which has its name because it was composed in the same year as 'der Freischuetz' and experts claim to hear some of the music of the opera appearing in the Mass. Weber composed it for the nameday of the King of Saxony and it was probably sung for the first time in the Catholic Court church (katholische Hofkirche) in Dresden under the baton of Weber.
The church of St Gallus was chosen by ORF (Austrian broadcasting) for this week's broadcast Sunday service at on.orf/verpasst 13.07.25 10.00 katholischer Sonntagsgottesdienst
The congregation joined in at the end with 'Nun danket,alle, Gott' (Now than we all our God
I studied the opera for my degree and didn't think much of it, so I have no inclination to seek out the Mass.
Both the opera and the Mass were composed in 1818 so they are not exactly modern but they would certainly have fitted in well to the musical tastes of the day in Central Europe.
The standard sections of the Ordinary of the Mass are not considered to be particularly operatic though Weber did add an extra Offertorium specifically to honour the King and it has a number of operatic flourishes.
At the name of Jesus (Evelyns or Camberwell)
Forth in the peace of Christ we go (Deo Gracias is the set tune, but they may use Duke Street)
Gather around, for the table is spread (Scottish melody - Skye Boat Song, I think)
Ye watchers and ye holy ones (Lasst Uns Erfreuen)
Quite a nice selection IMHO.
That's what I'd have hoped for! ❤
That's the following hymn in the Orange Book, and Song 34 is indeed the tune set therein. I didn't notice this when looking up the numbers, as it's on the next page...
They may use Song 34, but for some reason Duke Street was the tune which came to my mind - probably because we've used it in the past. I like both tunes...
It's actually quite a lot older than Fight the good fight, being attributed to one John Hatton, who died in 1793.
Here it is, sung to one of Isaac Watts' paraphrases of psalms:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGi3ybJ96B8&list=RDQGi3ybJ96B8&start_radio=1
As a student I used to attend Above Bar Church in Southampton. The Minister enjoyed emphasising that Watts was a Sotonian, and made spurious historical hints of him having attended the church. Watts' "Above Bar Chapel" was actually Independent and, after various rebuilds, WW2 destruction and amalgamations, is today subsumed in the Avenue St Andrew's URC. The present "ABC" was originally the "Church of Christ" and only adopted its present name in 1954.
O Lord Our God, How Majestic Is Your Name (Phil Lawson Johnston)
How great Thou art! (How great Thou art)
The Servant King (Graham Kendrick)
I the Lord of sea and sky - Daniel Schutte
Take this moment - Bell
Centre of my life - Paul Inwood
You shall cross the barren desert (Be not afraid) - Robert Dufford SJ.
2 organ scholars are going off to conservatoire / cathedral; choral scholar leaving for exam focus; two new probationer choristers got their surplices.
Music featured reserved and appropriate use of the zimbelstern to create a festal feel.
Organ Introit: Vater unser im Himmelreich (Buxtehude)
Mass setting: Missa Sancti Nicolai - Haydn
Anthem: Be thou my vision - Chilcott
Hymns:
<words by the vicar> Slane
O thou who camest from above (Hereford)
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
Immortal Invisible (St Denio)
Organ voluntary: Ceremonial March Sumsion
Some lovely music here. The Haydn Gloria was super, the Chilcott very moving, the Sumsion voluntary was 'generous with the bigger stops' and made me smile.
More music to come at evensong later on.
Cheers
Heron
Christ whose glory fills the skies (Ratisbon)
usual canticles etc
Pleasant are thy courts above (Maidstone)
The Church of God a kingdom is (University)
Crown him with many crowns (Diademata)
A congregation of 13 which sounded like over 30 given the enthusiastic singing, very good experience. A long time since I was asked to play "Maidstone" which I much enjoyed even if the words are rather drippy in parts of that particular hymn.